BS1363 type electrical socket. Note the closed shutters (Red) blocking entry of foreign objects.

British Standard BS 1363 specifies the type of domestic AC power plugs and sockets most commonly used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and many former British colonies. In these countries, the system is colloquially also known as the 13 amp plug/socket. Some praise BS 1363 to be one of the safest domestic power-connector systems in the world, although it is difficult to make objective comparisons. Other plug types, such as IEC 309 and BS 546, are only seen in old installations and specialised applications, where either the BS 1363 plug is unsuitable or where mateability with the standard variety is not desired. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... British Standards is the new name of the British Standards Institute and is part of BSI Group which also includes a testing organisation. ... CEE 7/7 plug and socket Domestic AC power plugs and sockets are devices that connect the home appliances and portable light fixtures commonly used in homes to the commercial power supply so that AC electric power can flow to them. ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (almost exclusively Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... Industrial power plug is used here to refer to those power connectors that, unlike ordinary mains power plugs, are not used for the average domestic appliance but rather for more heavy-duty applications such as arc welders, cranes, cinemas, large cooking ranges, etc. ... rtyertyerytertyerytery This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

A BS 1363 plug has two horizontal, rectangular pins for phase (commonly termed 'live' by non-specialists) and neutral, and above these pins, a larger, vertical pin for an earth connection. Unlike with most other types of sockets, the earth pin is mandatory in the BS 1363 plug, as it is needed to open a shutter in the socket. It also polarises the plug. Moulded plugs for unearthed, double-insulated appliances may substitute this contact with a plastic pin. Virtually all non-fixed domestic equipment is connected using the BS1363 plugs, the main exceptions being equipment requiring more than 13 amperes (e.g. larger electric cookers, which are hard-wired), and remotely switched, non-fixed lighting (which use proprietary or BS546 plugs). In the electrical appliance manufacturing industry, the following classes are used to differentiate between the power connection requirements of devices. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Current can be measured by a galvanometer, via the deflection of a magnetic needle in the magnetic field created by the current. ... An Electric cooker is an electric powered cooking device. ...

Because typical British circuits (especially ring circuits) can deliver much more power than an appliance flex (power cord) can safely handle, these plugs are required to carry a cartridge fuse. The fuse is manufactured to BS 1362 and are normally rated at 3, 5, 10 or 13 amperes. The maximum load that can be placed on a socket is 13 A; triple and larger sockets are fitted with a 13 A fuse of the same type used in the plugs. The plugs and sockets are designed to carry up to 250 volts AC, 50 hertz. For information on the safe installation of BS 1363 sockets, see the article on Electrical wiring (UK). A ring circuit (more formally a ring final circuit; informally a ring main or just a ring) is an electrical wiring technique that provides two paths for the live, neutral and earth lines by wiring a ring of cable, or sometimes three separate cores in conduit. ... 200 A Industrial fuse. ... The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the SI unit of frequency. ... It has been suggested that ring circuit be merged into this article or section. ...

This plug is often described as the safest in the world and to many outsiders it often seems excessively safety conscious and somewhat cumbersome. The high extraction force can be inconvenient, particularly for people with weak hands, such as the elderly. To counter this, plugs with handles, and straps to provide existing plugs with a handle, have been produced but have not been popular. In addition, most wall sockets have built in switches, reducing the need for plug removal when power is not required. The large size can make the plugs inconvenient when there are many plugs in a small space, as on power strips. On the other hand the side entry flex (cable) gives the combination of plug and flush socket a low profile to the wall (which is useful if plugging something in behind a cupboard, for example). French/Belgian power strip — top A power strip (also known as a plug board, power board, power bar, distribution board, gangplug or multibox) is a strip of sockets that attaches to the end of a flexible cable and allows multiple devices to be plugged in. ...

Internal wiring

This diagram shows the wiring of a british type G three pin plug. ...

Safety measures

BS 1362 fuses
(for BS 1363 plugs)

I created this image. ... I created this image. ...

Fusing

All plugs with the exception of some plug top power supply units are fused. This is in addition to the fuses or circuit breakers in consumer units/distribution boards. A wall wart style variable DC power supply with its cover removed. ... 200 A Industrial fuse. ... A 2 pole MCB A circuit breaker is an automatically-operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. ... Wylex standard consumer unit fitted with rewirable fuses Modern Hager consumer unit fitted with MCBs and an RCD A consumer unit is a box of fuses or breakers, usually arranged in a single row. ... A fairly standard American circuit breaker panel manufactured by General Electric and using interchangeable circuit breakers A distribution board (known in the United States as a (circuit) breaker panel, panelboard, or load center or for old ones, fuse box) is a mounting enclosure for multiple electrical circuit breakers. ...

Prior to the introduction of the 13 amp plug the BS546 2 A, 5 A and 15 A plugs were used. With this system the only fuses were in the consumer unit. 15 A sockets were generally given a dedicated 15 A circuit. 5 A sockets might be on a 15 A circuit with multiple sockets or on a dedicated 5 A circuit. 2 A sockets were generally connected to the lighting circuit which was fused at 5 A. Adaptors were available from 15 A down to 5 A and from 5 A down to 2 A so in practice it was quite possible for an appliance with the smallest size of flex to be protected only by a 15 A fuse.

When the practice of using 30 A ring circuits was introduced (to save copper whilst also allowing more flexibility) it was considered unsafe to allow appliance flexes to be connected to such a high rated circuit with no further protection. Due to this the plug/socket combination had to provide the fuse. It was decided to place the fuse in the plug and in order to make sure people only used fused plugs to connect to the new circuits a new plug type was required: the BS 1363 13 A plug. A ring circuit (more formally a ring final circuit; informally a ring main or just a ring) is an electrical wiring technique that provides two paths for the live, neutral and earth lines by wiring a ring of cable, or sometimes three separate cores in conduit. ...

Putting the fuse in the plug also allows a range of ratings to be fitted providing superior protection for smaller flexes. This is especially useful for long small flexes or for extension leads that are not rated at the full 13A. Fuses for fittings to BS 1363 must conform to BS 1362. This specification describes a sand-filled ceramic-bodied cylindrical fuse, 25.4 mm (1") in length, with two metallic end caps of 6.3 mm (1/4") diameter and 5.5 mm long. An extension cord (also known as a power extender or an extension lead) is a length of flexible electrical cable (flex) with a plug on one end and one or more sockets on the other end (usually of the same type as the plug). ... Fixed Partial Denture, or Bridge The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos). ...

BS 1362 specifies breaking-time/current characteristics only for fuses with a current rating of 3 A (marked in red) or 13 A (marked in brown). Examples for the required breaking-time ranges are

• for 3 A fuses: 0.02–80 s at 9 A, < 0.1 s at 20 A and < 0.03 s at 30 A.

• for 13 A fuses: 1–400 s at 30 A, 0.1–20 s at 50 A and 0.01–0.2 s at 100 A.

(The standard fuses react slowly at low currents in comparison to modern thermo-magnetic miniature circuit breakers. For example, the commonly used "Type B" 10 ampere ("B10") circuit breaker must break a 50 A current in less than 100 milliseconds. However, if there is a dead short from live to earth fuses can act faster than circuit breakers, and at the extremely high currents in this situation, are more likely to fail safe, as circuit breakers can be welded in-circuit by the high currents generated in these circumstances. Most domestic MCBs are not rated to break currents of greater than 10 kiloAmps, and many older MCBs are not rated to break currents above 3 kiloAmps. For this reason, it is very important to calculate the PSCC (Prospective Short Circuit Current) for the circuit the MCB is meant to protect and ensure the chosen MCB has a high enough rating to break the expected PSCC). A 2 pole MCB A circuit breaker is an automatically-operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. ... The maximum prospective short circuit current is the maximum electrical current which can flow in a particular electrical system under short circuit conditions. ...

The 3 A fuses are intended mainly for small load (< 750 W) appliances, such as radios and desk lamps. The 13 A fuses are for larger load (<3.2 kW) appliances such as irons and electrical heaters. An iron Ironing or smoothing is the work of using a heated tool to remove wrinkles from washed clothes. ... All-air and air-water HVAC systems use air ducts, outlets, and inlets installed throughout their buildings. ...

BS 1362 requires that plug fuses with any other current rating are marked in black. 5 A fuses are also commonly used, for medium load (1250 W max.) appliances such as desktop computers and TV sets. Ratings of 1, 2, 7 and 10 amperes are also produced, but rarely used (1 A is found in some shaving-socket adapters, for example).

The fuses are mechanically compatible, but inserting a fuse with a too low current rating for the appliance will likely cause the fuse to blow prematurely, while using higher current rating than necessary will increase the time in which a fuse will blow in case of a fault, which might degrade safety.

Rewirable BS 1363 plugs are always sold fitted with a fuse, usually 13 A. This fuse must be changed if fitting the plug to an appliance or flex which requires a fuse with a smaller rating. Plugs with smaller fuse sizes already fitted are sold but are not as common. As a result, before factory-fitted plugs became the norm it was common to have a lot of spare 13 A fuses around that had been removed from newly purchased plugs.

Shuttering

BS1363 type electrical plug, with a dummy (plastic) earth pin, also showing pin insulation

British power outlets incorporate shutters on the phase and neutral contacts to prevent someone from pushing a foreign object into the socket. On most sockets these are opened by the earth pin which is longer than the others and must always be present (though on Class 2 (double insulated) equipment with moulded-on plugs or euro converter plugs (see later) and on class 2 power supply units it may be plastic). A notable exception to this method of opening shutters are sockets made by MK. These use a proprietary system which seems to depend on the shape of the phase and neutral pins and does not depend on the earth pin. Some older sockets simply require equal pressure to be placed upon the phase and neutral shutters (towards the outer edges so as to stop insertion of 4-mm plugs). On sockets which use the earth pin to open the shutters, said shutters can be opened by inserting an object into the Earth hole (a screwdriver works well for this). Electricians do this frequently to allow them to insert test probes into sockets. The 4-mm pin European plug types (CEE 7/16, GOST 7396) will fit in after doing this, and 4.8-mm ones (CEE 7/4, 7/7 or 7/17) will go in if forced. However the lack of earth connection (if the plug has it) and the fact that BS 1363 sockets will often only be protected by a 30 A or 32 A fuse or breaker (which is much higher than the wiring regulations permit for other non industrial socket types) means this is not recommended. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The designation class 2 is used in several classification systems: Class 2is a Protocol like UART, SCP, SPI,I@C etc. ... GOST 7396 is a series of Soviet and later Russian standards that specify basic dimensions and safety requirements for power plugs and sockets used in Russia and other former Soviet Republics. ... It has been suggested that ring circuit be merged into this article or section. ... Industrial power plug is used here to refer to those power connectors that, unlike ordinary mains power plugs, are not used for the average domestic appliance but rather for more heavy-duty applications such as arc welders, cranes, cinemas, large cooking ranges, etc. ...

Pin insulation

The phase and neutral pins on modern plugs have insulated bases to prevent finger contact with pins and also to stop metal sheets (for example, fallen blind slats) from becoming live if lodged between the wall and a partly pulled out plug. A downside to this prong insulation is that it may contribute to damaged sockets not making good contact with the prongs, which may even melt the latter. No such problems exist with healthy sockets.

Dimensions

The live and neutral pins have a rectangular cross section 6.35±0.13 mm wide and 3.975±0.075 mm height. They are 17.7±0.5 mm long and their center lines are horizontally 11.115±0.065 mm from the symmetry plane of the plug. The protective-earth pin is centered on the symmetry plane, is 22.73±0.5 mm long and has a cross section 3.975±0.075 mm wide and 7.925±0.125 mm height. The center lines of the live/neutral pins and the protective pin are vertically 22.23±0.13 mm apart.

Others

• The plug base is broadened near the pins to help keep fingers away from the pins (this was a very early modification to the standard, which was later improved by the use of the insulated pin bases described above).
• The plug sides are shaped to improve grip and make it easier to remove the plug from a socket without placing fingers behind the plug where the pins are.
• The plug is polarised, so it should always be clear which lead or prong is phase and which is neutral. This feature is also important to make sure the fuse is in the phase side of the supply.
• Wall sockets usually incorporate switches to turn off the power. Some interpret the regulations as requiring an adjacent switch where this is not incorporated into the socket, however this interpretation is not widely agreed on by electricians.
• The cable always enters the plug from the bottom, thus making it difficult for people to unplug the (quite firmly fitting) plug by tugging on the cable. This practice — possible with many other plug designs — can be hazardous as it can damage the cable insulation causing shorts or tear the conductors, leading to overheating or even internal arcing across the resulting break in the conductor. On the other hand this tight fitting and bottom entry of cable means that the stresses on the cable when it is pulled hard (by for example tripping over it) are even higher.
• The plug is firmly fitting and therefore difficult to dislodge by accidental knocks or strains on the cord
• The design of the earth pin ensures that the earth path is connected before the live pins, and remains connected after the live pins are removed.
• Should the cable be tugged from the plug, the designed lengths of the internal wires should mean that the phase wire is disconnected first, followed by the neutral and finally the earth. This ensures that an abused plug will fail safely.

Replacement

Plugs for hand-wiring are commonly available, and are usually attached with instruction cards displaying recommended wire lengths. They can be assembled or opened with a flat-head and/or Phillips screwdriver - modern plugs have external screws which accommodate both types, though the terminal screws inside are nearly always flat-headed. Most modern products come fitted with moulded plugs with removable fuse sections (these plugs can only be easily removed by cutting off), with some exceptions such as most lamps which usually have normal hand-wired plugs along with a label with wiring instructions wrapped around the flex.

The physics syllabi of the UK's GCSE, Scotland's Standard Grade, Ireland's Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate (along with the concept of a ring circuit), and Hong Kong's Certificate of Education Examination include the procedure for wiring BS 1363 plugs. Look up syllabus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... GCSE is an acronym that can refer to: General Certificate of Secondary Education global common subexpression elimination - an optimisation technique used by some compilers This is a disambiguation page &#8212; a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Standard Grades are Scotlands educational qualifications for students aged around 15-16 years. ... A Statement of Provisional Results is issued in the September after the examination, a final certificate is issued at a later date. ... The Leaving Certificate (Irish: Ardteistiméireacht), commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert (Irish: Ardteist) is the final course in the Irish secondary school system and culminates with the Leaving Certificate Examination. ... A ring circuit (more formally a ring final circuit; informally a ring main or just a ring) is an electrical wiring technique that provides two paths for the live, neutral and earth lines by wiring a ring of cable, or sometimes three separate cores in conduit. ... The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE, 香港中學會考) is a standardized, area-wide benchmarking examination conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), is normally taken by a student at Form 5, the end of his/her five-year secondary education in Hong Kong. ...

Euro converter plugs

euro converter plug, empty, europlug inserted and closed.

Some manufacturers/distributors use a special type of plug for conversion of Class 2 appliances from mainland Europe which are fitted with moulded europlugs. Unlike a travel adaptor these plugs when closed look fairly similar to normal plugs, although larger and squarer. Inside are two metal clips into which the metal ends of the europlugs pins are clipped. The body of the converter plug is shaped to grip the europlug. The hinged lid is then shut to cover the connections to the europlug and is screwed shut. These plugs have a plastic earth pin and a fuse accessible from the outside and in some cases are fitted with screws that are made to be difficult to unscrew. Similar converters are available for a variety of other plug types but don't seem to be seen much in practice. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1509x1119, 311 KB) Summary Euro converter plug empty, with a Europlug inserted and with the lid closed. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1509x1119, 311 KB) Summary Euro converter plug empty, with a Europlug inserted and with the lid closed. ... In the electrical appliance manufacturing industry, the following classes are used to differentiate between the power connection requirements of devices. ... The europlug is a flat, two-pole domestic AC power plug that is generally supplied moulded on the end of an appliances flex or a power cord, designed for voltages up to 250 V and currents up to 2. ...

These adaptors are usually supplied fitted on all recent Class 2 Sony electrical products with fixed wiring (and not IEC C7 cables) sold in the British Isles instead of typical moulded plugs, probably as a measure to reduce costs. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... IEC connector is the common name for the set of thirteen line sockets (called the connector in the specification) and thirteen panel plugs (called the inlet) defined by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) specification IEC 60320. ...

Countries of use

This design is not only in use in the United Kingdom and Ireland, but also in Sri Lanka,Bahrain, UAE, Qatar,Yemen, Oman, Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar, Botswana, Ghana, Hong Kong, Macau, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya, Nigeria, Iraq, and Zimbabwe. BS 1363 is also standard in several of the former British Caribbean colonies such as Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada. It is also used in Saudi Arabia in 230v installations although 110V installations using the NEMA connector are more common. UAE redirects here; for other uses of that term, see UAE (disambiguation) The United Arab Emirates is an oil-rich country situated in the south-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia, comprising seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. ... Saint Vincent may refer to: Saint Vincent (island) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines São Vicente Saint Vincent de Paul Saint Vincent Ferrer Saint Vincent of Lerins Saint Vincent of Saragossa Saint Vincent Pallotti Saint-Vincent, a municipality of the Valle dAosta, in Italy St. ... A NEMA 5-15 plug and socket plug. ...

In the Republic of Ireland the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) issued the Irish Standard I.S. 401 Safety Requirements for Rewireable 13A Fused Plugs for Normal and Rough Use Having Insulating Sleeves on Line and Neutral Pins which is largely similar to BS 1363. Any relevant plugs originating or sold, in the Republic, must pass the Irish Standard or an equivalent standard of a member of European Union, which includes BS 1363. The National Standards Authority of Ireland, or NSAI, is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) member body for the Republic of Ireland. ...

The UK, and some of these other countries, also use the older BS 546 round-pin socket standard. rtyertyerytertyerytery This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

In some continental European countries (e.g., Germany), the BS 1363 system is today often used for low-voltage (12 V or 24 V) DC connections in photovoltaic systems, because it provides easily available high-current connectors with fixed polarity that are incompatible with the schuko system and europlugs. A solar cell, made from a monocrystalline silicon wafer A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy. ... Double Schuko socket with one plug inserted CEE 7/7 hybrid Schuko/French plug Schuko (IPA: ) is the common colloquial name for a system of domestic power plugs and sockets that is also known as Type F or CEE 7/4. A Schuko plug features two round pins of 4. ... The europlug is a flat, two-pole domestic AC power plug that is generally supplied moulded on the end of an appliances flex or a power cord, designed for voltages up to 250 V and currents up to 2. ...

Variants

Several manufacturers have made deliberately incompatible variants for use where intermatability with standard plugs and sockets is not desired. Examples include filtered supplies for computer equipment and cleaners' supplies in public buildings/areas (to prevent visitors plugging things in). The most commonly seen variant is one made by MK which has a T-shaped earth pin. The Walsall Gauge 13 A plug was used by the BBC for technical supplies. MK electric is a company that makes electrical accessories (plugs sockets switches conduit trunking etc). ...

Walsall Gauge 13 A plug Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2418x2205, 1197 KB) Walsall Gauge 13A plug (front) shown compared with normal 13A plug File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Walsall Gauge 13 A plug Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1569x1492, 389 KB) Walsall Gauge 13A plug File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Criticism of Design

The factual accuracy of this section is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page

The rather low maximum current rating (13 amperes) coupled with the use of flat, rather than round pins is alleged to be a design flaw by some as being inadaquete for heavy duty applications such as three kilowatt electric heaters or large tumble driers especially on 230 or even 220 volt systems (220 V is the pre-harmonisation standard in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). Those who attempt to use 13 A plugs (particularly poor quality ones) with such appliances often find after a while that either the pins or the fuse overheat to the extent that the plastic around the pins becomes discoloured. At 220 volts, a 13.64 amp current will be drawn to supply an appliance with three kilowatts of power. Image File history File links Circle-question-red. ... Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, BSL, NISL, ISL Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Ian Paisley  - Deputy First Minister...

While 13 A (@ 220-240 V) is indeed inferior than the 15/16 A available on some systems it still has more capacity than the 10 Amp plugs used in some countries or the American NEMA 15 A (but 100-120 volt) system which only provides for appliances up to 1800 watts (at 120 V)

BS1363 plugs are also considered bulky and most people find them very fiddly to wire (particularly when an appliance has thick conductors) because of the internal dimensions and layout (although this varies somewhat with the design of individual plugs). However all domestic electrical goods sold in the UK are sold with plugs pre-fitted, under Government regulations.

Humour

It has been stated in various comedy acts and lists of "universal truths" circulating on the Internet that the most painful household incident is stepping on a 13 amp plug whilst not wearing shoes. Whilst this is obviously not literally true, it is certainly the case that due to their design, with the cord exiting at the bottom rather than the back of the plug, most 13 amp plugs will tend to lie with the pins facing upwards like a modern-day caltrop. Stepping on a plug in this position would undoubtedly be painful, particularly since the ends of the pins are not rounded (see picture). Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke[[ laughter in general). ... Hurting redirects here. ... A shoe is an item of footwear worn on the foot or feet of a human, dog, cat, horse, or doll. ... Caltrop used by the Office of Strategic Services. ...

A football joke about 13 amp plugs is: "Why are (name of football team) like a three-pin plug? They're useless in Europe." Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. ...

Other devices covered by BS 1363

As described above, BS 1363 specifies 13 A plugs and sockets. It also specifies the following devices:

• Adaptors, which permit two or more plugs to share one socket.
• Switched and unswitched fused connection units, which take the same BS 1362 fuses as the plugs. These are the standard means of connecting permanently wired appliances to a socket circuit (most often but not always a 30 A ring circuit). They are also used in other situations where a fuse and/or switch is required. Such as when feeding lighting off a socket circuit, to protect spurs off a ring circuit with more than one socket and sometimes to switch feeds to sockets for kitchen appliances (20 A DP switches are also sometimes used for this but doing so can easily violate the rule of no more non-fused spurs than sockets on the ring).

This page covers electrical adaptors which are common in the UK and presumablly other places where British wiring is in use such as Hong Kong. ... 200 A Industrial fuse. ... A ring circuit (more formally a ring final circuit; informally a ring main) is an electrical wiring technique that provides two paths for the live, neutral and earth lines by wiring a ring of cable (or sometimes three separate cores in conduit), starting from the consumer unit (also known as...

See also

• Electrical wiring (UK)
• Common electrical adaptors in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom
• Common electrical plug and socket problems in Hong Kong
• Domestic AC power plugs and sockets

It has been suggested that ring circuit be merged into this article or section. ... This page covers electrical adaptors which are common in the UK and presumablly other places where British wiring is in use such as Hong Kong. ... This article exists to give readers an insight into some problems regarding electrcial plugs and sockets in Hong Kong. ... CEE 7/7 plug and socket Domestic AC power plugs and sockets are devices that connect the home appliances and portable light fixtures commonly used in homes to the commercial power supply so that AC electric power can flow to them. ...

References

• British Standard BS 1363: 13 A plugs, socket-outlets, adaptors and connection units.
  • Part 1: Specification for rewirable and non-rewirable 13 A fused plugs. BS 1363-1:1995.
  • Part 2: Specification for 13 A switched and unswitched socket-outlets. BS 1363-2:1995.
  • Part 3: Specification for adaptors. BS 1363-3:1989.
  • Part 4: Specification for 13 A fused connection units switched and unswitched. BS 1363-4:1995.
• British Standard BS 1362: General purpose fuse links for domestic and similar purposes (primarily for use in plugs). 1973.